The big screen adaptation of DC Comics’ Green Lantern, which stars Ryan Reynolds in the title role, is due to debut from Warner Bros. on July 17th, 2011, but the rest of DC’s superhero movie slate remains shrouded in mystery.  Although an adaptation of the supernatural/western Jonah Hex is due next year and a movie based on The Losers is set to go into production, among DC’s many superhero characters only Green Lantern has a definite date at the movies in spite of the fact that last year’s Batman movie, The Dark Knight earned over a billion dollars at the worldwide box office.

According to Variety, “while a date has not yet been set, the studio does want a new Batman pic for summer 2012,” but Warners is still hostage to Batman Begins and The Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan, whose stylish direction lifted the Batman movies far above the level of the typical superhero movie, and who is obviously not interested in rushing into another “Bat Epic.”

As ICv2 reported (see “Warners, DC Win Superman Suit”), Warner Bros. can’t afford to wait when it comes to the Man of Steel.  If Warners doesn’t get started on a new Superman movie by 2011, it could end up costing the studio a lot of money if the judge in lawsuit brought by the Siegel heirs decides to revisit the case.

While Warner’s slate of live action DC superhero-based movie remains unfocused the studio’s home entertainment and interactive divisions are being much more aggressive with DC properties.  Superman: Doomsday from Warner Home Video, which took in $9.4 million, remains the most popular direct-to-DVD animated superhero feature produced by either Marvel or DC, and Warners Interactive has just added three DC graphic novels to its growing slate of action comics (see “Warners Announces a Trio of New Motion Comics”).